>> this is "bbc world news." funding of this presentation is made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu, newman's own foundation, and union bank. >> at union bank, our relationship managers work hard to know your business, offering specialized solutions and capital to help you meet your growth objectives.

we offer expertise and tailored solutions for small businesses and major corporations. what can we do for you? >> and now, "bbc world news." >> this is bbc world news america. for a pakastani girl attacked by the taliban. the pakastani girls are demanding an education. the economic crisis and some are ready to celebrate. and he may be -- they may be numbered two on the ticket, but the vice presidential candidates traded verbal blows

last night as election day lems. -- looms. welcome to our viewers on public television in america and also around the globe. today people in pakistan observed a day of prayer for malala yousafzai. she is a 14-year-old girl shot in the head by the taliban. her crime was to campaign for girls like herself to have an education. the attack has been condemned across the globe. our journalist was the first to report from her home town. >> prayers across pakistan have been dedicated to malala. the 14-year-old remains in critical condition, three days after a taliban assassin shot

her in the head. just two weeks ago the girl that has become the focus of worldwide attention was filmed at home, helping her younger brother with his work. it is for her own writings she became famous. the school flag flies at half mast. the students do not know when she will return here to her desk. everywhere there is evidence of the accolades she won defining the taliban and campaigning for girls' education. the biology told us of the horror of the attack, showing us the school band she was traveling on when the gunmen climbed on board and targeted her. the blood stain. but she was not the only girl who was injured. this girl, whose face was concealed by the safety, was

hurt. >> we were all screaming. the man pointed his pistol at our faces. i did feel i was shot in the arm. the fear is still with me now. >> they have taken to the streets and malala's tragedy has had reverberations across appestat. >> the taliban are now frantically releasing statement after statement trying to justify the attack. they also recognize it could be a turning point. the militants say their policy of not attacking journalists has not changed. all watershed moment in maybe, but not everyone convinced it will be for the good. bbc news.

story, iore on malala's spoke a brief time ago to the former u.s. ambassador to pakistan. thank you for joining us. he was saying in his report this could prove a turning point with pakistan. what do you think? >> i think there are millions of people across pakistan that certainly hope so. i was very encouraged to die. of course, it is the day of prayer for malala. the chief of the mosque in lahore calls for "and ambassador of hope." that is an enormously significant. religious scholars have issued a fatwah, determining that the attack was unislamic.

these are important messages that we hope will unify pakistan and they seem to be. >> how much support do you think there is at the grass-roots level for the taliban policy of not letting girls of education? >> is basically a conservative society. you would find most people are conservative about girls' education. they supported for the first -- for the first few years. they do support -- is long does it support girls' education. -- islam does support girls' education. the fact that malala is one of them, it has personalized the issue. >> do you think this attack on malala might help the pakastani

government have the political will to take on the taliban? >> i just heard that the ministry and the minister of the interior are hoping this will give them the will to move the bank that has not happened and needs to happen if pakistan is to have an effective counterterrorism policy. >> are you worried that the american condemnation of the attack on malala could prove counterproductive when you are trying to help? >> we are not the only ones condemning. even those who are anti-american are condemning the attack. it may reverberate most negatively against one candidate for president, but he has held back from condemning the taliban himself for a reason that i think is very interesting.

he says he is afraid they would retaliate against his workers in the region. that shows you the deaths of the year and intimidation that just a handful -- the death of the fear and intimidation that just a handful of terrorists have. they hate the teheran and fever and the attacking of innocent -- they hate the terror and fear and the attacking of innocent children. they are afraid to speak out. >> thank you for training as. more than 40 have been injured in clashes between supporters and opponents of presidents mohammed mursi. former government officials have been accused of ordering attacks on protesters during the revolution. russia has denied there were any weapons on board the syrian plane coming from moscow that

was forced to land by turkey on wednesday. russia says that the plane was carrying radar equipment. now mother teresa, nelson mandela, theodore roosevelt. just a few who have won the nobel peace prize. now you can add the european yen -- union to that list. the award comes as many countries in the union are facing economic hardship. not everyone is in the mood to party. gavin hewitt reports. >> the nobel peace prize is to be awarded to the european union. >> there were gasps of surprise in norway. the un is facing violent protests. but the prize honor the eu for

the atmosphere of peace and reconciliation for the last six decades. >> i did not expect it to be such a good day. it is with great emotion i received the news to award the global peace prize to the european union. >> the european union emerged from the barbarism of world war ii. when the berlin wall came down in 1989, the u.s. acted as a beacon for democracy for countries that had been under soviet rule. but the nobel committee's decision is controversial to some. in the falklands, the eu failed to act to save lives. >> i think it is a statement about peace in your. i think many of us would argue that nato has kept violence

today more than the european union did. >> and today the european union is being challenged by a debt crisis that has caused the new tensions in southern europe. spain observed its national day today in a somber mood. recession and unemployment pulled protesters onto the streets and many question whether this was the right moment for a peace prize. >> actually, i was surprised. i think it is not the best timing for europe to win this prize. >> it is great news, but surprising. >> the norwegian jury seemed to be trying to bolster europe in its hour of need, reminding europeans of what had been achieved. opinion polls show that the eu

is unloved by many europeans and the european project is still under threat from a debt crisis that has yet to be fixed. bbc news, brussels'. >> and the u.s. secretary of state hillary clinton issued her congratulations to the eu after meeting with the italian prime minister. the discussed some pressing issues including syria and iran. for more on their talks, italy's prime minister joins me now. thank you for coming in. we appreciate it. >> my pleasure. >> is it ironic that the european union wednesday peace prize just as it is under great crisis? >> i think it is highly symbolic. it is a great integration beyond the economic integration of the union. that is going to remain a fundamental factor. the nobel prize has been awarded

because they wanted to recognize the fundamental importance of the union in keeping peace and security in europe for the last half a century and in my view, it is a promise for the future. >> yes, the future of the european union. would you not admit it is under strain? >> it has been under strain. hopefully it is coming to an end. not an easy and. what is going to happen in the european council next week is going to strengthen the governments of the eurozone, but also the governments of the european union. >> and yet you can understand why the citizens of your are not necessarily a celebrating the peace prize tonight -- of europe are not as a salary -- not

necessarily celebrating the peace prize tonight? >> i am sure many are celebrating. people are strong believers of the european union idea at the celebration is in our hearts. >> you discussed syria with hillary clinton, the u.s. secretary of state. it seems to be growing worse by the the. is there nothing you are going to do with the u.s.? >> we have to create conditions for a better agenda. i see the only way to a political solution for the syrian crisis. we have to work intensely with the countries of the region and the members of the security council to get them out of the present stalemate. the civil war is not going to go anywhere. it is only going to continue the

massacres and the bloodshed that we have seen. it is important to work more intensely. >> but president assad is not interested in a political solution. >> that is why the international community must increase the pleasure on the regime. the thing -- the pressure on the regime. the thing about geneva, it is extremely important. we are supporting this action and this is an element of the conversation. >> you must have also talked about iran. what can you tell us about the new sanctions against iran that the european union is likely to announce next rate? what will they be? >> the goal is to increase the pressure so of the iranian regime will finally come to the negotiating table with

substantive ideas on how to stop the enrichment of uranium to a level that is incompatible with the civilian nuclear program. sanctions are probably going to be an chris. -- increase. >> is there anything about which areas? >> the financial sector. these are possibilities to be considered. >> thank you for joining us in the studio. greg thank you. >> still to come on tonight's program -- 50 years after the cuban missile crisis, the bbc has exclusive access to information that reveals it was even greater than the new. to africa now, and a legal case that could have implications across the continent.

women in botswana are now able to legally inherit the family home. previously only men could inherit, leaving women homeless. >> it is a decision women will be delighted about across botswana. according to the law, women and girls are not allowed to inherit property. this left them at the mercy of male relatives. many lost the rights to any prop.. did judge of the high court hearing says law had no place in modern society. >> we very much welcomed the ruling. i think it is a huge step forward, not only in botswana, but throughout the southern half of the region. it is not just botswana that has these discriminatory laws. it is other countries like

malawi. this sends a signal hopefully to the region that these kinds of discriminatory laws should no understand. >> discrimination against women exists in many african societies. in uganda, legally married wives are entitled to 15% of the state, with only 1% going to the customary air. the rest goes to the children. in nigeria, the constitution guarantees equality for women. however, women tend to lose property inheritance rights. the ruling in today's case highlights the broader issue of women's rights in africa and there will be many across the continent who will be watching with interest. bbc news. >> 90 minutes in the limelight,

but last night the u.s. is presidential candidates made the most of the time. and paul ryan and joe biden came prepared for a verbal wrestling match and they delivered. mark marell has this report. >> in kentucky, they know all about neck-and-neck thoroughbred contest. nervous eyes were on the debate in this state. as it got under way, there was little time for niceties'. the veteran democratic warrior went in hard, repeatedly swinging at the republican young hero. >> we don't want to embolden our enemies to wait out for us and take over. >> that is a bizarre statement. 49 of our alls -- hear me. 49 of our allies signed on to

this position. >> they argued about jobs, about tax, about the state of the economy in by an's home town. >> do you know what the unemployment rate in scranton is today? >> i sure do. >> 10%. that is how it is going all around america. >> that is not how it is going. >> joe biden of more than made up for the president's passivity in his debate. he chuckled. he never stopped grinning to drive from the impression his opponents' arguments were a joke. >> what would my friend do differently? if you notice, he never answers the question. >> we would not refer to bashar al-assad as a reformer when he is killing civilians with russian-provided weapons?

we would not be outsourcing foriegn policy to the united nations coming giving vladimir putin veto power over us. >> lively stuff, but spectators seemed divided. neither man stumbled. either lost. the pressure is still on. the president needs to put in a flawless performance in the next debate to redeem his reputation as the front runner. bbc news, kentucky. >> all eyes are on tuesday's presidential debates. it was a dangerous showdown that gripped the united states 50 years ago. it was october 28, 1962 when the cuban missile crisis threatened to turn the cold war into a hot one. the bbc has gained exclusive access to new information that shows there was the second stage to the crisis.

>> the cuban missile crisis did not end on october 28, 1962. cuba was going to become a nuclear power right under the nose of the united states, 90 miles from florida. >> there was a lot of attention for at least another three weeks and until that moment, we were at the highest state of alert short of nuclear war. >> i call upon chairman khrushchev. he has the opportunity to world the world back from the abyss of destruction. >> people around the world. the sigh of relief in october 1962 when soviet president nikita khrushchev agreed to remove nuclear weapons from cuba. but in a total failure of intelligence, the u.s. was blind to the existence of tactical nuclear weapons. meanwhile, negotiations --

castro began to see some cooperation with the soviets. >> castro is very angry at the soviet the trail. it sounds like the soviets made a concession after concession to the americans and never consulted with their cuban allies. >> chris jeff was afraid -- christoph was afraid -- the kicker's job was afraid. he sent his most trusted ally, the soviet premier. >> he said the dissent would be strong. and you cubans would have the authority to use these weapons. >> but privately, the soviet premier was having doubts about letting castro anywhere near the

nuclear weapons. >> he understands that with cuban pride and with the way the cubans saw a possible nuclear war very differently from the way the soviets saw that it would be very dangerous and irresponsible to leave these weapons in cuban hands. >> by mid november, castro had become belligerent towards both washington and moscow. decision to shoot at low-flying american planes -- gradually the soviet premier comes to his own decision that he made by himself that tactical nuclear weapons will have to be removed. >> this is the first time the notes of the meeting have been revealed. >> to see the cuban leader

basically beg the soviet premier to leave what he thought of as the last defense against the united states in cuba, but the soviet premier does not been. he says no, we cannot. all nuclear weapons are leaving cuba. >> had we invaded and the tactical nuclear missiles had been used, 100,000 u.s. soldiers would have been killed instantly. >> during december 1962, both kennedy and nikita khrushchev to acknowledge how close they came to nuclear war. chris jeff wrote to kennedy, proposing that they work to eliminate nuclear weapons by the end of kennedy's second term. it was never to be. >> reporting on a crisis that was even more grave than we'd

thought. that brings today is programmed to close. you can find constant updates on our website. make sure to check our facebook page. from all of us here at world news america, thank you for watching. have a great weekend. >> make sense of>> make sense ol news at bbc.com/news. >> funding for this presentation was made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu, newman's own foundation, and union bank. >> at union bank, our relationship managers work hard to understand the industry you

operate in, working to nurture new ventures and help provide capital for key strategic decisions. we offer expertise and tailored solutions in a wide range of industries. what can we do for you? >> "bbc world news"ceby kost, ls presented angeles.